The incident happened the same week that Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly said on the air that both Santa Claus and Jesus were white. Her comments drew national attention and prompted a slew of heated comments on blogs and social media sites.

A spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools told The Associated Press that the Cleveland High School teacher knows he made a “stupid mistake” and has since apologized to the Rougier family.

“The remark was inappropriate and should not have been made. The teacher feels very badly about what occurred,” district spokeswoman Kim Vesely told the AP in an email. “He self-reported the incident to the principal and has apologized to the student and to the student’s parent. Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken.”

Michael Rougier said he still has concerns about the teacher. “If he has that attitude, how is it affecting students, studies, grading habits, trending toward Caucasian kids?” Rougier said.

The teacher still works at Cleveland, but Christopher has been removed from his class at his family’s request, Vesely said.

Tuesday on NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, panelist Corey Dade of “The Root” put these recent “White Santa” incidents in a broader context.“They are responding to the notion of the browning of America — changing American values, changing American culture,” he said, adding,”Santa is one of the most quintessential American figures there is, so the idea that anyone would try to remake the idea of Santa being multicultural or multiracial is a problem [for them].”